Student governments prepare for new semester

Tempe Undergraduate Student Government President Jordan Davis said USG is working to help provide the three state universities with $1 billion for new infrastructure. (Photo by Hector Salas Almeida)

ASU student governments are ready for a new semester to begin and have already been hard at work for the students in many areas, the student body presidents said.

They have been working together to form committees and boards in order to be more effective for the student body and have created initiatives to benefit the University over the next few years.

USG Tempe President Jordan Davis said they have been working on a lot of legislative material at the start of the semester and are specifically looking to help provide the three state universities with $1 billion over the next 25 years for new infrastructure.

"The money would be used for research buildings, and we are looking at how the research facilities are impacting students once they get into their careers," he said.

The amount of money is high, and Davis said he knows it will be difficult.

"It's a lot of money, but we are really pushing for it to become a reality," he said.

Gov. Jan Brewer said in her State of the State address that she wants to push for a stable tuition plan for ASU and UA. USG is looking into the meaning of "stable" and how to make it work, Davis said.

"We aren't clear on what stable means," he said. "At NAU, the tuition you enter with as a freshman is what you pay all four years, so we don't know if 'stable' means limiting tuition increases, but we will be working with the Arizona Board of Regents to see what we can do."

Advising is a key point for Davis. He said he is working with USG to help students get the services they need in their respective fields.

"Right now, advising doesn't have the capabilities to deal with interdisciplinary studies student," he said. "We are working with them to provide more information to students and better prepare them for their fields of study."

USG Tempe is also focusing on increasing attendance at sporting events, Davis said.

"Increasing attendance at our men's basketball games is important to show the support they deserve as a strong competitor in the Pac-12 conference," he said.

Graduate and Professional Student Association President Megan Fisk said her team is working on reorganizing boards and committees to make them more effective for the students.

"We want to reinvent committees to provide better services and to be more effective for the students in the future," she said.

GPSA is also considering a fee for graduate students.

"We are contemplating a student programming fee of $5 to $10 for graduate students," Fisk said.

USG West President Howard Waldie IV said he is working to finish initiatives from last semester and partnerships on campus.

"Right now we are focusing on last semester," he said. "We are increasing outreach and partnering with organizations to provide for the students."

The athletic fee bill is out of the student government phase and is on ASU President Michael Crow's desk, Davis said.

No changes or revisions are planned before the bill goes to ABOR in April.

Reach the reporter at jshanco2@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @joey_hancock